While the world swirls into ever increasing spirals of chaos and doom it is lovely to find a cause for hope.
My friend Karolina is from Ukraine. She is an academic, and I met her along with her partner Jonny in Oxford. They are both fascinating people exploring ideas with wit and depth. They are regularly back in Ukraine, carrying out research.
Last year I got a message from them - they had found a hedgehog and wondered what they should do - I gave basic first aid advice, aware that while this was a different species to ‘our’ hog in the UK - in Ukraine it is Erinaceus roumanicus - the northern white-breasted hedgehog, the basic biology is similar.
Until that moment the only Ukrainian hedgehogs in my mind were the ones placed on roads to act as tank defences!
This year Karolina and Jonny found another hedgehog, and a rescue! I was intrigued that a country so beset by trouble should have people dedicated to helping wildlife, so got in touch with the hedgehog hospital and was swiftly moved by what I read.
First - the name; the rescue is named after a French journalist, Arman Soldin, and his is a story that should be more widely known.
As Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Arman volunteered to head there immediately. Working for AFP he was a video reporter capturing many significant moments, but also some of the quieter, less news-filled events too.
His Wikipedia page states that, ‘Frequently he used his mobile phone to record subjects who would otherwise be intimidated by a video camera, such as a woman digging in her garden in Chasiv Yar, or former welder Oleksandr delivering bread to sheltering civilians on his moped in Donbass. In Kherson in December 2022, Soldin produced video for AFP of risky civilian rescues of Ukrainians stranded on islands in the Dnieper [Dnipro] River after Russian troops retreated in November to the other side of the Dnieper [Dnipro], but kept snipers and artillery trained along the river, rendering it a new front line. His coverage in January 2023 showed an intense Russian offensive on Soledar, and Vuhledar, in the eastern Donetsk Oblast. In April 2023 he covered Ukrainian soldiers digging defences near Bakhmut.’
So far so amazingly brave - but what sent his work viral was something unexpected. He and his team were in a trench and found an injured hedgehog - Arman cared for it, fed it and released it into the wild after a couple of days. The videos he took of this spread around the world - a moment of kindness in a hostile environment.
And I have just dug back into his twitter posts from the time, and I love the honest steps of discovery he made … I have copied the text exactly.
“We found a baby hedgehog that was dehydrated and dying at the worst place possible in Chassiv Yar ...
At the bottom of the bottom of a crater from a Russian shelling...We tried to give him some water but weren't very successful...and discovered he also had a head injury too..he didn't look at his best tbh but still he was sooo cute !
As he weren't reacting too much.. we decided to take him with us to base. Located 10 km from Bakhmut, Chassiv Yar is proper hell these days. We found an ammunition old box...recreated some sort of grass environment and took him at the back of our car
He was sort of loving it ! Being very active at the back ! But very quick he fell asleep and seemed to be not waking up ? Is that possible at this time in the year?
So at first we had no clue what a (baby?) hedgehog is eating - so at first we built some sort of little cabin for him outside, gave him apple and water but he was completely unresponsive but still breathing while sleeping !
We couldn't stand to leave him outside so obviously very soon we put him inside and started googling what baby hedgehogs need and eat - a little stop by the garden was needed to find some insects and worms !
Now the question was how to give him water, no feeding bottle at the horizon but multiple first aid kits and medical equipment so we improvised some sort of feeding bottle !
And it ... WORKED ! I AM OFFICIALLY A DAD !
However it's a bit of a struggle to feed him.. he seems to want to hibernate or sleep? Is this possible? We caught a few spiders, worms and firebugs. Is that all ok ? Any advice on how to feed him? So far he's not reacting when we put them around his mouth/nose…
In the meantime, it's sleep time ! although it seems he/she's sleeping all the time anyways). I've put the kettle on and filled up a little bottle of water and put next to him wrapped in kitchen roll. He is cuddling with it right now!
Thank you all for the tips and advices ! And in particular to
who called me this morning and told me everything I needed to know ! First munch for LUCK the [hedgehog] who can’t get enough of this delicious cat food !”
Arman went on to release the hedgehog, now named ‘Luck’. It was missing an eye, but seemed to take the new home as its own - and this is where the story takes a turn, as soon afterwards Arman was killed by a Russian rocket - he was found dead with his camera in his hand.
And you know what? I am going to pause the story now - I think it is worth giving both Arman, and the hedgehog rescue that has taken his name, their own space. Please - keep an eye out for part two - coming soon!
Beautiful, sad story. I'm glad you've shared it. That sort of thing needs celebrating as it's reassuring to know there are still good people doing good things in this crazy world.
Poignant story, thanks for sharing!